Leader of the House of Lords

Appointment of Additional Grenfell Tower Inquiry Panel Member

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister has made the following statement: The fire in Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017 was an unimaginable tragedy that should never have happened. The Government set up the Grenfell Tower Inquiry to get to the truth about what happened and to deliver justice for victims, survivors, bereaved families and the wider community. Ensuring that such a terrible tragedy can never happen again remains a priority for this Government. In February this year, I announced my intention to appoint an additional panel member to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Section 7(1)(b) of the Inquiries Act 2005 allows me to appoint panel members to the Inquiry panel at any time during the Inquiry. In appointing a panel member, section 8(1)(a) and (b) of the Inquiries Act 2005 require me to ensure that the Inquiry panel (considered as a whole) has the necessary expertise to undertake the Inquiry, and to consider the need for balance (considered against the background of the terms of reference) in the composition of the panel. Phase 2 of the Inquiry is the largest phase in terms of the number and range of issues to be considered, and given the diversity of issues, and the expertise already available to the Inquiry, I am pleased to appoint Ali Akbor OBE as the Inquiry’s third panel member. Ali is currently the CEO of Unity Homes and Enterprise, a leading housing association supporting sustainable and diverse neighbourhoods in West Yorkshire. Prior to his role at Unity, Ali was finance director for the Community and Social Services Directorate at the City of Salford. In December 2019, he was awarded an OBE for services to the community in Leeds. His knowledge of, and professional expertise in social housing, local government and community engagement are highly relevant skills and experience which will add great value to the Inquiry panel. I am confident that Ali’s appointment will ensure that the Inquiry panel has the diversity of skills and expertise necessary for the scope and complexity of issues to be addressed by Phase 2 of its work. I wrote to the Chair of the Inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, on 12 October informing him of my decision and to seek his consent to the appointment in accordance with section 7(2)(b) of the Inquiries Act 2005. Sir Martin replied on 13 October consenting to the appointment. Ali will read into the work of the Inquiry while he formally steps back from his role at Unity and will join the Inquiry panel on 2 November for the start of module 2 of its work. It is intended that Ali will sit for the duration of the Inquiry and, alongside his two fellow panel members, will be jointly responsible for the whole of the Inquiry's Phase 2 work. Our exchange of letters can be found on gov.uk.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

UK Participation in International Vaccines Procurement Initiative (COVAX)

Lord Callanan: My Right Honourable friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Alok Sharma has today made the following statement:I am confirming that the United Kingdom has joined the global?COVAX?initiative to expedite the discovery, manufacture, and fair distribution of an effective coronavirus vaccine to one billion people globally. The UK is a strong supporter and champion of COVAX and its mission to deliver fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines around the world. We are pleased that over 170 countries and territories have announced their intention to join COVAX. Through this initiative, countries are pooling resources to support ‘at risk’ investment in manufacturing and secure advance purchase agreements with manufacturers for the supply of their vaccines. COVAX will procure vaccines for both high-income and lower income countries and will distribute vaccines equitably. The COVAX Facility is being run by the Vaccines Alliance (Gavi), with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). It has two parts:a Self-Financing?Facility?to?allow upper-middle and?high-income countries to pool investments in candidates in exchange for early access to vaccines; andThe Advance Market Commitment (AMC) fund, to support 92 low and lower-middle income countries to buy vaccines.We have contributed £71 million to the Self-Financing Facility. This will give us an option to buy vaccines available through COVAX for up to 20% of the UK population (13.5 million people). Any vaccines secured through COVAX will be complementary to those the UK has already secured through its agreements with vaccine developers.The Prime Minister announced at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that the UK will allocate £500 million of ODA funding for the procurement and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in low and lower middle-income countries. This is in addition to the £48 million we allocated to the AMC at the Global Vaccine Summit in June 2020.This new funding includes a commitment to match £1 for every $4 committed by others, up to £250 million, encouraging other countries to fund the global effort to fairly distribute vaccines across the globe and leverage an additional $1 billion for the AMC. Canada, Germany, Sweden and Japan have all made commitments of over $422 million. This means we have, so far, matched almost £106 million of this funding.In addition, the UK?has worked with the World Bank to?develop an ambitious?$12 billion?proposal?for vaccine financing, which was also announced at UNGA. The World Bank?will make up to $6?billion?of its financing available to middle-income countries and $6?billion?to low and lower-middle income countries, to help them secure access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Rough sleeping update

Lord Greenhalgh: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Robert Jenrick) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:Today, I have announced additional support for rough sleepers this winter, giving local areas the tools they need to protect people from life-threatening cold weather and risks posed by COVID-19.During the pandemic, we have worked closely with local authorities and the sector to offer vulnerable people safe accommodation and support. That work is ongoing and in September we had successfully supported over 29,000 people, with over 10,000 in emergency accommodation and nearly 19,000 provided with settled accommodation or move on support.These efforts have been backed by significant government support. We have given councils over £4.8 billion to help them to manage the impacts of COVID-19, which we have been clear includes their work to support rough sleepers. Over the summer we worked with every local authority to develop a local, tailored plan to support rough sleepers over the coming months. This has been supported by £91.5 million of funding from the Next Steps Accommodation Programme, allocated in September.Today’s announcement further builds on this existing package of support over winter, setting out a plan that gives local areas a range of levers to support vulnerable rough sleepers as we approach winter.Firstly, there will be a new £10 million Cold Weather Fund for local authorities to bring forward COVID-secure accommodation this winter. Secondly, we will be working intensively with the areas in greatest need, in recognition of the particular challenges they face. Thirdly, recognising the vital role of the faith and communities’ sector, we are establishing a new £2 million Transformation Fund to ensure the voluntary sector can bring forward COVID-secure accommodation. Finally, we are publishing comprehensive guidance to the sector, produced with Public Health England, Homeless Link (the umbrella organisation for homelessness charities) and Housing Justice, to help them open shelters more safely, where not doing so would endanger lives. We know that some night shelters are planning to re-open imminently and our operating principles and additional funding package will help shelter providers and local authorities make any additional winter provision safer from the spread of COVID-19.Today’s announcement is on top of the £112 million Rough Sleeping Initiative funding provided to local authorities in 2020/21, as well as the recently announced funding allocations to provide interim support and winter funding as part of the Next Steps Accommodation Programme. We will also be bringing forward 3,300 longer term units of accommodation this year. In total, the Government is spending over £700 million pounds to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping this year alone. We remain committed to transforming the lives of some of the most vulnerable in society, and to ending rough sleeping for good.In addition, the Government has injected over £9 billion into the welfare system, including helping people with housing costs by increasing Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile – putting an average of £600 into people’s pockets this year. We have taken action to protect tenants and support them to stay in their homes. Most recently, we have increased notice periods to six months meaning that anyone served notice today can stay in their home until mid-March in all but the most egregious cases, such as those involving antisocial behaviour.We will set out further detail about how local areas can access this winter funding and support imminently and I encourage all relevant partners and local authorities to consider how they can best use this funding to save lives this winter.

Cabinet Office

Meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee

Lord True: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for Cabinet Office (Michael Gove), has today made the following Written Statement:The next meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee will take place in London on 19 October 2020, with delegations attending in person and by video conference.The meeting will be co-chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP and Vice President of the European Commission, Mr Maroš Šefcovic.The agenda will include four items: 1. Introduction and opening remarks from co-chairs 1.1. Stocktake of recent Specialised Committee meetings 1.2. Future Specialised Committee meetings 2. Update on Withdrawal Agreement Implementation 2.1. Citizens’ rights 2.1.1. Joint Implementation Report  2.1.2. Progress on Joint Committee Decision on triangulation 2.2. Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland 2.2.1. Progress on Joint Committee Decisions foreseen by the Protocol 2.2.2. Progress on Joint Committee Decision on correction of errors and omissions 2.3. Dispute settlement – Discussion on progress on Joint Committee Decision on the establishment of a list of arbitrators 3. AOB 4. Concluding remarksThe UK delegation will include:Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Rt Hon Michael Gove MPThe Paymaster General, Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MPRepresentatives from the Northern Ireland Executive have been invited to form part of the UK delegation.

Department for Work and Pensions

Warm Home Discount Scheme 20/21 – Direct Support for Pensioners

Baroness Stedman-Scott: My Right Honourable Friend, The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr Thérèse Coffey MP) has made the following Written Statement. The Warm Home Discount Scheme (WHDS) provides up to £350m per year to tackle fuel poverty and the pressure placed by energy prices on low income households. Around 1.2 million pensioner households who receive the guarantee element of pension credit are automatically eligible for the WHDS and will receive a £140 discount off their energy bill. Thanks to DWP IT we have data matched nearly one million eligible claimants who will receive this discount automatically. A further 220,000 pensioners will receive a letter encouraging them to check their eligibility and apply. Pensioners can call to check their eligibility on 0800 731 0214. Where eligible, the deduction will be taken automatically from energy bills before March 2021, with most pensioners receiving their discounts between now and January. Up to a further 1.2m low income, working age households can also benefit from a £140 discount from their supplier. These customers must meet an individual energy supplier’s criteria for the scheme to qualify, which will include being in receipt of certain means-tested benefits. The WHDS also provides a range of initiatives to benefit fuel poor and vulnerable households, including debt assistance, benefit entitlement checks and energy advice to domestic customers in or at risk of fuel poverty. More information on the Warm Home Discount Scheme is available at gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme.